The First Poster for 'Solomon Kane'

When you consider that the big-screen adaptation of Solomon Kane only just found a lead a little over a month ago, the producers certainly seem to be wasting no time in getting the film in gear. The Movie Blog now has a first look at the teaser poster for the action-adventure flick. The film is based on the adventure series of the same name by Conan the Barbarian creator Robert E. Howard about a cursed 16th Century swordsman. Back in October, Rome's James Purefoy had signed to star as Kane, an immortal swordsman who is forced out of 'retirement' for an all-out battle between good and evil. In the stories Kane was described as "a somber and gloomy man of pale face and cold eyes, all of it shadowed by a slouch hat". One look at this poster and you can see that Purefoy is an excellent choice.

The first appearance of Kane was in back 1928 in the magazine Weird Tales. Over the years, the character has appeared in over 13 stories and was even the subject of a 1976 Marvel Comic. A lot has changed since 1928, and some of the text has become the subject of criticism over its shall we say 'antiquated' views on race and women -- you know you're in trouble when you describe African tribesmen as, 'closer to mankind's beast ancestors'. Then again, it was written in 1928, so what are you going to do? I guess we will just have to hope that Michael J Bassett (writer and director for the film) has some serious re-writes in mind. Solomon Kane is set for release in 2008.